All she wanted was the single rose on the mountain. The mountain that was actually a volcano. Surrounded by large, thorny vines and man-eating plants. And a dragon. A very large, large dragon… Oh boy. /Contestshipping\

永縁花 = pronounced as "Eien Hana" which is translated to "Eternal Flower".

I'd just like to quickly apologize now…I haven't been online in a long time because after the whole plagiarizing deal (who's account is, by the way, STILL THERE. I'm really angry about it considering I reported him a couple times already.) I kind of just lost all motivation to write anything and everything. Everything, inspiration, ideas, motivation all just went out the window… at multiple points I considered just deleting all of my stories and completely abandoning my account and now that I've started school again I'll probably have even less time, but I'm going to try my best! Inspiration and the muses are all coming back slowly but surely!

I'd like to thank all of you, all of my friends and readers who reported the guy who plagiarized me and for all the encouraging messages and reviews. I wouldn't be here without you!

Gothika will be updated soon, the last chapter is probably going to be extremely, extremely long lol, The Sunday List of Dreams will also soon be updated (and I will finish it soon as well) Twisted will be updated too, I have a vague idea of the next few chapters (and some dilemmas for May!) and I'm considering expanding Stereo Hearts, or the idea of it into a full multi-chaptered story.

I drafted this a little while before the whole plagiarizing event but have only just now finished it.

This is based on some fairy-tale I heard once when I was a kid… I think… lol it's just a quick fun one-shot for all of you Contestshipping lovers!

Summary: All she wanted was the single rose on the mountain. The mountain that was actually a volcano. Surrounded by large, thorny vines and man-eating plants. And a dragon. A very large, large dragon… Oh boy. /Contestshipping\

She was a sadist.

She had to be.

Drew huffed angrily as he flicked his bangs from his eyes with an angry sigh. He looked up at the trail, if it could even be called that. The mountain was steep, the "trail" nothing but a slight, narrow indentation into the dirt with large stony rocks everywhere. A few loose ones fell past him and he eyed the large boulder just above him a few feet warily. The sun was scorching at this level but he knew that the fact the mountain was actually a volcano, an active volcano, might also have something to do with the raging heat… Normally at this level it would have gotten colder but if anything the weather had only gotten hotter every step he took upwards.

Oh, and the dragon that was most likely waiting for him at the top also probably contributed to this heat.

Everyone knew how much fire-type dragons enjoyed this height and heat. The tall volcano was the perfect habitat for the large dragon that'd managed to lay claim to this mountain so many years ago. Nobody had dared go against it after seeing the type of destruction it was capable of. That, and anyone who tried to slay it never came back…

Drew sighed angrily as he pulled himself up the trail, grabbing a large piece of rock deeply embedded into the side of the mountain, and pulling himself up onto more stable rock. The plants had begun to wilt and die a few miles down, but at this height the majority of them were dry, wisps barely hanging on when a light warm breeze rustled by.

Drew attempted to flick his bangs again, but they stuck slightly to his forehead. He was sweating – the heat was absolutely unbearable. He shrugged off his coat, wearing only his plain white button up and dark pants. His sword hung at his right hip, and Drew threw his ornately adorned coat onto the ground. He glared at it angrily, as if blaming the coat that bore his family's royal crests and emblems for all of his problems. He decided against bringing it with him, knowing it would only bring him down and that it had no value to him anyways.

He began to continue his long trudge up the side of the volcano, thinking about how exactly he'd gotten himself into this mess.

May had been his friend since they were young – both were royalty, May hailing from the Johto Kingdom while he came from the Hoenn Kingdom. They'd met when they were both ten years old, in the infamous rose garden at his family's castle. She'd gotten lost trying to find her way back to their parents who were enjoying tea in the gazebo. She had tears in her eyes – but had refused to cry. He wasn't quite sure what'd come over him, but he'd produced a red rose (from out of nowhere, she still claims) for her. She'd shyly taken it from his hands, before giving him a bright smile. He could still remember the small sort of fascination that had bloomed in his chest when he saw her smile. He also remembered the way her hand had gripped his – tight and scared, assured and brave – as he led her back to her parents.

And as much as he hated to admit it, he'd fallen for her. Hard. (And fast, but he'd never admit that to anyone.)

When May had turned eighteen, in the eyes of the other kingdoms she'd become eligible to marry. Her parents had thrown the customary "debut" dance for her, inviting all the eligible aristocrats and princes from various kingdoms. He'd of course been invited, and took much joy when May stuck close to him most of the night, rather than dancing with any of the other men. He also delighted in the faces she'd made when they'd dance together, him teasing her quietly under his breath so the others around them wouldn't hear. She'd blushed, gotten angry, laughed, gotten angry again and blushed once more. The cycle was never ending and Drew loved every minute of it.

But she was the true sadist here. Drew now knew he had nothing on her in terms of pure sadism. May officially took the cake.

Nearing the middle of the dance May had announced her marriage requirements.

She wanted the single crystal rose that grew atop the mountain. Everyone knew of which mountain she spoke of – it was the only one where the flower grew. According to legend, there was only one of said crystal flower, and that it grew atop a volcano inhabited by a dragon and other various dangers. She'd kept her face straight the entire time she spoke, while the others stared at her, completely flabbergasted. Including her parents. Her little brother looked delighted to know the majority of the men who did try would most likely get eaten or killed. But Drew was never one to back down from a challenge.

The rose itself was beautiful – it was made of pure crystal that glowed rainbow in the night and was said to never wilt in the presence of true love. It only bloomed every hundred years, and just his luck that this year happened to be the hundredth since the last bloom. The volcano was a dangerous place, and very few dared travel up the side of it let alone get near the crystal. But here he was, trying to get this blasted flower from this blasted mountain covered in nothing but large boulders and dirt… Drew paused on the path to frown as he noticed small plants perking up in the dry, light brown dirt.

The small flowers had green, thorny vines and the flowers were a light pink color. The vines got larger and thicker the further he progressed up the side of the mountain. Frowning he wondered what sort of plant could thrive in such a horrid environment. The flowers began to grow larger in size as well – most of them remaining closed. They turned a light pink color to a dark crimson. Drew grunted in annoyance as the hem of his pant got caught in one of the large tips of a thorn that curled slightly inward. He pulled himself loose and noticed that the plants had completely overtaken the trail.

He was getting closer to the summit. It was getting even hotter now, and was that crack filled with lava? What sort of plant could survive in this type of condition?

Drew shook his head at this, before continuing through the large bushes of thorny vine plants. Pulling out his sword he swung downwards, slicing a large piece of vine out of his way. He swung hard, taking the majority of his annoyance out at the plants.

'That woman's a damn sadist.' Drew grumbled to himself angrily, before flicking the bangs from his forehead angrily. He wiped his forehead slightly with his arm, glancing around. He then noticed something moving on the ground. He looked down, only to see the large vine he'd cut of had begun to twitch slightly. Drew paled in color.

Now he knew exactly what these plants were.

Drew saw something coming straight for him from the corner of his eye, and dodged quickly – paying mind to the vines and thorns all around him, as a sharpened vine smashed into the ground where he'd just been standing. Several of the large flowers around him growled, as they began to unfurl. They bloomed beautifully, the crimson color of their petals fascinating Drew for a moment – until he saw the circular row of fangs deep inside near the pit of the flower. He could see the chunks of meat, flesh and a bit of fur lodged on some of the teeth of some poor animal that'd made the mistake of moving this close to the flowers. They smelled sweet, but Drew knew that was just a trap. He covered his mouth, wincing at the overly strong scent that the flowers gave off. He loved red roses, but this was just ridiculous!

A man-eating flower lunged at him, attempting to catch him off guard. He grit his teeth and dodged, bringing the sword down in one strong swing to the stem that connected the flower head to the rest of the plant. It died with a howl, dropping down to the ground and shriveling into itself, withering and drying out quickly.

Drew ran forward, slashing all around him with calculated moves, clearing the way for him. Flowers began to bloom all around him, with the intention to stop him in any way possible. Drew figured this was one way the flower was trying to protect himself, but that didn't make him appreciate being attacked at. Drew dropped to the ground and rolled as a flower lunged at him from above him. It crashed against the ground, and Drew rolled to his feet before swinging his sword down once again, slicing cleanly through the thick stem.

Drew panted as he continued to run through the thick brush of thorny vines and large man-eating flowers. Drew saw something from the corner of his eye, before running to it. It was a large clump of vines wrapping all around something…Drew's eyes widened. He was certain the gardener had said something about this…

Drew grit his teeth in pain as a thorny vine sunk itself into his body, pinning his left arm to his side, but managing to miss his right arm. It lifted him high into the air, and Drew could feel liquid as his blood dripped down his arm and sides. The thorns dug into him and he grimaced at the pain. He looked down at the large clump of thorns once again, debating quickly in his mind. Several large flowers blossomed and he could see them fighting over who was going to eat him. He glanced back down before making a decision.

He lifted his arm and threw his sword downwards, the sharpened weapon cutting through the air and piercing straight through the thick clump of vines. The blossoms below him howled in pain, and the vine that had grasped him loosened and let him go. Drew fell and tumbled onto the ground painfully, groaning slightly at his landing that was sure to leave a bruise, before quickly jumping up and running straight for his sword. He grasped the handle before pulling it out, and with a calculated and strong swipe, let it fall downwards and cut cleanly through the large clump. A thick, red liquid poured from the sliced body of the plant, almost like bloody but it had a sweet, honey like scent – an ironic end to the flowering monster. The flowers all around him fell to the side and onto the ground, the vines shriveling and wrinkling up. The open blossoms quickly fell victim to this as well. He had recalled last minute that his gardener had informed him as a child that man-eating roses were all part of one body – one core.

And luckily for him, he'd managed to find it and kill it. Drew sighed as he wrapped his wounds, ripping parts of his shirt that weren't bloodied up into strips for bandages. Sighing he threw the last shreds of his shirt onto the ground before continuing on, sheathing his sword.

Trudging carefully past the thick vines that hadn't dried out yet, Drew pushed through the rest of the vines until he saw what could only be the summit of the volcano. It was rounded and dipped near the top, and there was a thick smoke coming from the top. Jagged rocks pointed out all around the mouth of the volcano, and at the end of the trail Drew saw the rose sitting atop a rock, crystal leaves delicately wrapping around the base of the flower. It hadn't bloomed yet, the crystal rose petals wrapping around itself. It had an ethereal glow around it, and it looked as though the crystal were made of glass that was filled with a rainbow of colors, bouncing around the crystal prism.

Drew sighed in relief. He glanced around carefully, wary of any further danger – and also the dragon. He didn't see anything though, causing him to furrow his brows in confusion. He was mentally prepared and expecting to see a large, red scaled dragon hovering over the flower like a protective mother. And a lot of skeletal remains everywhere. Drew rolled his eyes at his own thoughts before carefully stepping out into the open.

The thorny vines had formed a ring around the volcano it seemed, but didn't care to go any closer towards the flower. He approached the area carefully, on high alert in case the dragon decided to pop in at any moment and try to eat him. Eyeing the flower warily, he moved closer and reached out.

The flower's stem bent easily between his fingers, like molding glass or liquid sugar, and snapped off in a manner that Drew could only describe as graceful. He brought it closer to him, and blinked in surprise at the sweet, sugary scent that the flower gave off. He wondered for a moment if the flower in fact was made of sugar or what not, until a sound caught his attention. Drew perked up though as he heard the sound of heavy flapping growing louder and drawing closer. He looked up, only to see one large, orange and hot burst of fire coming straight for him. Cursing loudly Drew ran and dodged quickly, cradling the flower close to him in an attempt to keep it safe.

"Dammit, May, I'm going to kill you when I get back!" Drew sword to himself as he dodged another well-placed flamethrower.

The dragon roared angrily and loudly, the sound piercing through Drew's head. He winced at the sound, running straight for the bush of dry, dead vines. He mentally noted that the bush of vines could easily catch fire and surround him, but he threw this thought away as he sped up, trying to escape the dragon that stalked behind him. The ground rumbled as the dragon stepped forward once, twice, and roared again into the air.

He heard the loud flap of wings as the dragon took flight, soaring and hovering high above him, the wind stirring up the dead plants all around him and dirt flew high into the air.

He ran and jumped and stepped over dead large and small vines of the dried withering plant that was mow very good fodder for fire. Drew was panting, the flower tucked safely against his chest. He wasn't about to come all this way only to die because of one dragon. Gritting his teeth as he tumbled out from the dead underbrush he could feel the heat of the lick of flames as the plants behind him caught fire. The dragon shrieked into the sky, angry that Drew was still alive. Drew turned around only to roll away quickly as the dragon landed on the ground, his large clawed feet almost crushing and ripping him apart. Drew ran around, dodging the large dragon as it moved it's massive head and flexed it's wings, trying to catch the quick human.

It growled in annoyance as Drew pulled his sword from his side. The sound of steel comforted him for a bit, but for only a moment. He wondered how exactly he was supposed to kill this large, fearsome dragon with his dinky sword. If he had to measure it in terms of sizeable objects, the dragon was a turkey and his sword was a toothpick.

'Well, this will certainly be interesting.' Drew tucked the flower into his breast pocket where he figured it would be safe. It had surprisingly not shattered since he'd plucked it, despite all the jumping, running, and falling he'd been doing.

Taking in a deep breath, he turned to face the dragon, which, upon noticing his stance, landed on the ground. Drew breathed in deeply, letting the magic he'd learned as a child flow through his veins like ice and liquid fire – a strange indescribable feeling that rushed in his blood – as ice rushed and encased his sword.

His body shifted into stance, and the magic and the training and adrenaline slammed through his body like a hive of angry bees as he let instinct take over. The dragon roared one final time, as he and Drew ran towards each other, his sword and the dragon rushing in towards one another for one final, fatal blast.

Drew trudged tiredly back to the village where he was quickly picked up by a coach that had quite possibly been waiting for him for days. He wasn't quite sure anymore – time had all but become a blur since he'd started climbing that god-forsaken mountain/volcano/whatever everyone wanted to call it – all he knew was that it was a hellish hot place. He pulled on the clothes that had been placed in the carriage for him, before resting his head against the velvet seats in his coach, closing his eyes tiredly as his arms hung limply to his sides.

The coach bumped along the roads as it drove to May's castle. Drew had managed to fall into a light sleep before the coach had stopped and arrived at May's castle. Drew yawned tiredly and his body protested as he exited his coach and walked towards the rose garden where he knew May would be. They'd grown a large, maze-like rose garden for May after she'd been to his castle. Servants and other aristocrats stared at him in amazement – most of them having expected him to die on the volcano.

She was at the center sitting in the gazebo, reading a book. She looked up at him when she heard his footsteps, her eyes widening at the sight of him.

"Hello, May." Drew started, casually before groaning in pain as May jumped on him, shrieking hysterically.

"You crazy person! You – you freaking CRAZY PERSON!" She shrieked angrily at him, pounding on his chest with her fists and was she crying?

"Holy – god, dammit May – why am I crazy?" He wheezed out, his wounds still painful to the touch.

"You're crazy b-because," May hiccuped several times, "You're crazy because you actually went!"

Drew stared at May for a moment, face completely blank.

"What do you mean I'm crazy because I went? Those were your marriage requirements weren't they?" Drew asked calmly, face still completely devoid of emotion.

"I just said that because I knew nobody would marry me after that!" May shrieked at Drew.

Drew stared at her a few more seconds as May looked up at him, face streaked with tears. She'd probably thought he was definitely dead after a few days.

She was a sadist. It was a fact now.

Drew sighed, "Calm down May, I'm still alive so don't worry about it." He ruffled her head affectionately, at which she growled angrily and swatted his hands away.

May hiccuped a few more times, wiping her tears with her dress sleeve. Drew snickered at her state of distress, a sound that caused May to look up at him with a glare.

"Don't laugh! I was really worried." May scolded, before her voice faded to a soft, embarrassed murmur. Drew groaned mentally. This girl would be the death of him.

May sighed as she rubbed away the last of her tears. Drew smirked, before pulling (out of nowhere, he knew she would say in the future) the crystal rose from the mountaintop. May's eyes widened as she stared at the flower in his hand.

"Oh my god – " May started, and Drew's smirk widened.

"I know, I'm a great person." May rolled her eyes at Drew's comment, sticking her tongue out at him.

"You're ruining the moment." She commented and Drew could only laugh at this.

May moved closer to him, her hands nearing the flower tentatively, as if she were afraid it would break if she touched it. Drew watched the fascination on her face closely and briefly wondered what other faces he would see in time.

And the moment her hands met with his, the flower bloomed.

fin.

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